Is the lack of electricity a problem for hospitals or do they have generators?
Answer
There are terrible repercussions for this on the lives of people. Today, in most of the ministry's locations, we are depending on electric generators that work on diesel fuel in order to continue our work, although the diesel itself has also been cut by the Israeli side. If for any reason these generators stop working, that will surely mean that tens of the Palestinian patients will die inside the hospitals, because those tens are completely dependent on ventilators or incubators and the such.
Name
Editor
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Profession
Question
What is the current health condition there in numbers? What is the percentage of the cases with problems? What is the percentage of the cases that need to travel abroad?
Answer
To begin with, the Palestinian health ministry is the main health service provider in the Gaza strip. About 95% of the patients in the strip depend upon the Palestinian health ministry. We are talking about a service that is being presented to a 1.5 million people through 12 general and specialized hospitals, and 59 health clinic.
The patients who are facing problems under this blockade are of different groups, starting from children and their vaccinations. With the power cut and the deficiency of medical and other supplies, this means that there is danger on the lives of these children due to the lack of the needed vaccinations or due to our inability to preserve them if they are available.
There is also a sharp deficit in many medications especially those in operation rooms such as those for anesthesia, sterilization gauze, and materials related to surgeries. All of this exists as the Gaza strip is coming under daily attacks, and a large number of people are getting injured within minutes by these attacks just like what happened a few days ago when 45 people were injured inside the ministry of interiors building among whom were 25 children. Some of them caught splinters in their eyes or in other sensitive places in their bodies which we cannot provide a service for.
We also have a groups of heart patients, tumor and cancer patients, and those in need of neurosurgery who need advanced treatment. There is extreme difficulty to send some of them outside for treatment and so, on a daily basis, a number of patients are martyred as they fall dead because of this blockade.
We have another group of patients who depend on dialysis machines to control the percentage of toxins inside their bloods so that they would be capable of undergoing kidney transplant operations abroad. To begin with these machines are not always available and if they are available we might not find the materials needed to run them, or the spare parts to fix them. So we are forced to decrease the number of dialysis sessions from three times a week to two times or one, which endangers the lives of those patients and could cause death due to blood toxicity, or due to our inability to preserve their health in preparation for going to do the transplant operations abroad.
Looking at all these together, we find that we have thousands of patients who are directly affected because of this unjust and transgressing blockade forced upon the Palestinians in the Gaza strip.
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Editor
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Profession
Question
How will the current blockade and blackout affect the availability of clean running water for Gazans?
Answer
From 140 wells that provide water for Gaza, 25 of them have already stopped pumping water yesterday due to the power cut, and there are warnings from the water authorities that there is danger that all of the 140 wells will stop completely if the fuel blockade continues.
Of course, the water crisis is another crime which the Israeli occupation is committing. Throughout the previous years, and in complete silence, despite the fact that many Arab authorities have known about it, they have been drilling hundreds of wells on the boards of Gaza strip so that they would steal the water coming to the strip. For this reason, what is referred to as "drinking water" being used by homes in some areas of the strip, are not suitable for drinking on the long term because the mineral ratio in it is very high, and the poisonous nitrates in it are extremely high to an extent that cannot make it potable.
The water reaching most homes today are not being used for drinking but rather for washing and cooking, while people buy drinking water from water filtration stations where safer water can be found.
Name
maryam
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Profession
Question
Is it true that the Arab Doctors Group (ittihad el-atibaa' al-arab) was able to send aid to Palestine today through Egypt? Has anything reached the people in Gaza yet?
Answer
No. The shipment reached EL-Areesh city and then was returned again.
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Editor
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Profession
Question
How do you explain the general silence from the international community even though this is a humanitarian problem - not a political one?
Answer
To begin with, the international community should implement what it has endorsed – not even what we accept as Palestinians but rather what the international community itself has endorsed. There were decisions taken by the security council and the general assembly; why are countries across the world forced to implement the decisions of the security council, even by force, while there have been decisions taken since 60 years ago which no one has been able to force Israel to implement?
The Palestinian people are an occupied people who do not ask for anything more than freedom and independence, and so the matter is really simple: make them withdraw from our occupied land and that's it.
Secondly, even in the cases of war, there are international treaties that provide protection for civilians, the wounded, and the prisoners. So the international community must intervene to protect the civilians today in the Gaza strip from this crime that the Israeli enemy is conducting against civilians, prisoners, and the wounded. All of the Palestinian people in the Gaza strip are prisoners today.
Thirdly, we are speaking about a crime that is currently being committed and that is being escalated through the killing of a large number of patients due to the power cut and the holding back of fuel. I think if the international community had the will, it would have be able to do many things, but God only knows whether it does want to do anything or not. It seems that what is happening is not a matter of international silence but rather international collaboration in this crime that the occupation is undergoing in Gaza.
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Rasha
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Profession
Question
I want to ask about the role of International organizations in this crisis like WHO, Red Crescent, Red Cross,etc.
Answer
All international organizations that deal with health and humanitarian issues have offices in the Gaza strip, and they are trying to perform their roles. I think this is a chance to direct our sincere thanks to them. I would like to thank the Red Cross and the World Health Organization as well as all the Arab health organizations which try to penetrate the barricades in order to help us, and especially our brothers in the relief committee of the Arab Doctors Union, in particular Dr. Gamal Abdel-Salam. Also the Egyptian Doctors Syndicate and its Dr. Abdel Qadir Higazi in the Palestine relief committee. Also the syndicates in Jordan and other health and humanitarian organizations like "'I'tilaaf El-Kahir" and "El-Nadwah El-Aalameyyah" and "Hay'it El-A'maal El-Khayreyya" in Qatar, as well as Islamic Relief and others.
They are all trying to help us to stand strong and challenge this blockade, but everyone today is clashing with an enemy that is, unfortunately, shameless, who does not care being called a criminal or that it is transgressing against human rights simply because this enemy has the international backing of the United States which itself is committing crimes across the world and so gives the green light to this criminal enemy to continue its transgression against the Palestinian people.
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Editor
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Profession
Question
Do you expect the blockade to lead to the increase of certain types of diseases?
Answer
The continuation of this blockade will, of course, lead to the spread of any number of diseases. For example, what if the sewers overflow into the streets? Expect Gastro-enteritis as well as meningitis, the flu, and other diseases such as cholera to spread among people and children.
Of course, it would be expected then that tens or hundreds of people inflicted with such diseases would seek the services of the hospitals that are already barely meeting the needs of those patients already there.
Name
alissa
- Australia
Profession
Question
salam,
Is there anything that we can do as an international community to help ?
Answer
There is a lot that can be done by individual or countries. Of course, we are the most unjustly treated case in the world. Everyone who learns more about our situation can help us. The Israelis present a story that tries to cover up what they do. So if individuals learn from the media the accurate situation that helps.
Also, international organizations are able to help, like the Red Cross, UNICEF, and others, so people can donate through them. We at the Ministry of Health can collaborate with any organization to receive these donation.
Anyone can visit our website to help see how they can help.
Name
Breathe
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Profession
Question
The Israeli foreign minister says that there is no real power shortage in Gaza because around 75% of the electricity supply for Gaza comes either from Israel or Egypt.
This energy is still flowing so why is Gaza in complete darkness?
Answer
Firstly, this image has to do with what I just said. The Israeli media spreads lies to cover up for what they are doing.
The issue of energy is not just about quantity but also about quality and location. I could give you a car but without the keys or fuel so it would be useless to you.
Regarding Gaza, electricity comes from three sources:
1- 17% comes from Egypt feeding only Rafah. During the coming weeks even this will decrease due to maintenance work being conducted on the Egyptian side.
2- About 35-40% comes from Israel which covers only the northern part of Gaza strip. That supply is facing lots of problems because parts of that network was bombed and destroyed by the Israelis and they are preventing us from conducting repairs on it, so the amount sent by Israel is not fully used.
3- 40-50% is generated by the local station. This was bombed in 2006 and stopped working for a long time then was partially repaired but the Israeli enemy prevents its complete repair, so it was producing only 50 Mega Watts rather than 120 Mega Watts. Now, even those 50 Mega Watts depend on the fuel coming from Israel which has been stopped.
With regards to the Health sector, we have several problems from this electricity deficit. Because the network has been needing repairs for some time, a lot of electricity is lost as it is distributed across.
Throughout the day, the power is cut from our hospitals constantly, in some areas reaching 18 - 20 hours per day. The alternative is to use electric generators that run on deisel fuel, but these generators are not made to run for long hours. We don't have spare part for them if they break down. This leave tens of patients in danger.
I think that the images people are seeing across the media is clear and show the situation, and these are more truthful than what the Israeli foreign minister has said.
Name
Mohammed-H
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Profession
Engineer
Question
What can be done to help the people of Gaza. Who can we donate to to ensure the funds actually reach the people of Gaza.
Answer
There are a number of aid organizations that send these funds. Some examples are the UK-based Islamic Releif, the Qatari "Hay'it El-A'maal El-Khayreyya", the Cairo-based relief committee of the Arab Doctors Union, the Egyptian Doctors Syndicate, and "'I'tilaaf El-Kahir".
People could also deal directly with the Ministry of Health through Dr. Medhat Abbas, manager of Crisis Management Unit.
Name
ansar salman
- India
Profession
business
Question
What kind of support you are getting from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Iran and many Muslim coutries, and what is your expectations from the above states and especialy what kind of support you expect from the general muslims thru out the world who are ready to die for the paleteinians cause?
Answer
The Muslim states can do alot of things politically, but until now the support is much less than the size of the crisis.
As far as individuals are concerned, after remembering us in their prayers, they could send donations through the organizations just mentioned.
Name
Karim
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Profession
Question
Now that Israel has allowed the fuel to enter Gaza, has this fuel reached the hospitals yet?
Answer
Israel today has entered for only one time 60,000 liters from a needed 350,000 liters needed per day. It entered fuel for the power station worth only a few days. The problem has not been resolved completely but they only alleviated some of the pressure that has been put on them.
As for the impact of today's shipments, instead of having electricity come only 4 to 5 hours per day, it now comes 5 to 6 hours per day. This is the difference that it has made. The problem is still the same.
